2,075 MLB PLAYERS | 14,476 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
College  | Story  | 3/9/2017

College Spotlight: TCU

Jheremy Brown     
Photo: TCU Athletics
 


Perfect Game College Player Database
Weekly Spotlights: Week 1 | Week 2 | Frisco Classic | Dodgertown Classic
Shriners Classic Spotlights: LSU | Baylor | Texas Tech | Texas A&M

Every week during the 2017 college baseball season we will be pulling at least one report, and corresponding video when available, of a player entered into the College Player Database. This week will be a little different given Perfect Game's presence at three major college baseball tournaments, including the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic held at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Below we will share two detailed reports of players from each of the six participating teams (Baylor, LSU, Ole Miss, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech) continuing with Texas Christian. All of the reports entered into the database can be found in one, easy-to-find place as linked above, and can also be accessed off of the individual PG player profile pages.

To access all of the reports you will need a College Baseball Ticket (CBT) subscription. To learn more about the CBT and to sign up today please visit this link.


If you ever doubted the resiliency of this TCU club for any reason prior to the Houston Classic then you can quickly rescind that notion as Coach Jim Schlossnagel’s club never gave up despite facing both a four- and five-run deficit in each of their first two games. To takes things a step farther, the Frogs were down 10-5 to Texas A&M in the bottom of the ninth with their closer on the bump and rallied for a five spot, capped by an RBI single off the bat of Elliott Barzilli before winning the game in the 15th inning.

The pitching was fantastic for the Frogs throughout the weekend, led by senior righthander Brian Howard, who cruised once he found his groove, and Sunday starter Jared Janczak, who did exactly what he wanted to do on the mound and delivered an outing TCU had to have. In the 15-inning affair the duo of freshman Jake Eissler and sophomore Sean Wymer stepped up in a big way, combining for what would have been more than a complete game while allowing just two hits.

Having a presence like Luken Baker in the middle of your order is huge as he can instill fear in the opposing pitcher from the on-deck circle. He did his thing during his time in Houston, hitting for big power while showing a shorter and fast path that resulted in some loud thump. Catcher Evan Skoug put his hit tool on display while hitters such as Ryan Merrill and Nolan Brown stepped up in big situations throughout the weekend.

They’re ranked No. 1 nationally for a reason and we got to see the multiple layers of talent that help make the Horned Frogs as talented as they are. 


Sean Wymer, RHP

While Ryan Merrill may have had the big hit to send the Frogs onto victory in the wee hours of Sunday morning at the Shriners Classic you absolutely cannot look past what sophomore righthander Sean Wymer did on the mound. One of Coach Jim Schlossnagel’s top bullpen arms in the early juncture of the 2017, Wymer was outstanding upon entering the Texas A&M game in the 10th where he proceeded to throw five perfect innings and struck out nine along the way. 

Listed at 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, the Flower Mound native took a big step forward in the fall as reports had him working into the low-90s with a quality breaking ball. Not only did Wymer work into the low-90s in this particular outing, he sat there very comfortably in the 91-93 mph range through all five innings and even bumped a 94 to end his second inning. With a full and loose arm action through the back side, Wymer incorporates some shoulder tilt into his release with helps him generate consistent plane to his heater from a near over-the-top slot. The velocity came easy for Wymer while he was able to generate some subtle life to the pitch, all the while pounding the knees to either side of the plate. 

The big difference maker for the sophomore wasn’t his ability to maintain his velocity, but rather the comfort he showed in spinning his 12-to-6 shaped curveball. Replicating his release point and arm slot on the pitch, Wymer filled up the zone while showing sharp depth and consistent shape to the pitch, eliciting its fair share of swings-and-misses. Thrown in the low-80s, the curveball was as consistent for Wymer as his fastball and he more than once doubled up on the pitch with results that speak for themselves.

The TCU pitching staff has the big names who are known on a national scene already regardless of their grad year and if his outing Saturday night/Sunday morning was a sign of things to come then there’s another name prospect aficionados need to write down for the 2018 draft.




Luken Baker, 1B
There’s strong, there’s very strong and there’s plus-strong ... then there’s Luken Baker strong. Unrivaled in terms of physicality by nearly the entire country, the 6-foot-4, 265-pound sophomore looks even stronger than he did last spring and the offensive results picked up right where he left off in 2016. 

You can look at Baker and the type of power he has at the plate and quickly assume he swings hard with a reckless approach and hits it a mile when squared up. The opposite is true though as Baker showed one on the more sound approaches at the plate while staying short and fast to the ball with his hands and barrel. The ball simply comes off his barrel differently and it’s the combination of strength, athleticism and feel that help make Baker one of the more feared bats in the nation. 

In terms of handling velocity there’s no reason to worry as he not only barreled up low- to mid-90s pitching throughout the weekend at the Shriners Classic, he did it with the feel to use all fields rather comfortably. On a 92 mph fastball up and in from LSU’s Hunter Kiel, Baker simply pulled his hands and barrel in to turn on the pitch for a double down the left field line. On a 91 mph fastball away Baker did a nice job of extending through the zone and went with the pitch before again turning on 95 mph heat through the 6-hole for a single, coming off the bat at 96 mph. 

In the video provided you’ll see Baker staying square on a 92 mph fastball which he blasted off the center field wall which he legged out for his first triple of the year in Sunday’s action. That’s a lot of fastballs squared up but Baker also can hit the mistake pitch or something that spins, just as he showed in the first game of the Shriners Classic as he jumped all over a hanging Alex Lange curveball for his fourth bomb of the young season. 

He’s not pitching this season, and while that’s good news for opposing batters, all that means is Baker can focus his entire efforts on hitting, which of course is not so good news for opposing pitchers.


Other Texas Christian players added to College Player Database:

• Nolan Brown
• Jake Eissler
• Durbin Feltman
• Brian Howard
• Jared Janczak
• Charles King
• Nick Lodolo
• Ryan Merrill
• Evan Skoug
PG Special Events
Travel, Lodging, Entertainment
PG Partners
Recommended
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2024 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.